EAT YOUR VOICE OUT

Many of you want the  voice of angels,go for training classes, but refuse to acknowledge the role of food and nutrition in achieving this lovely feat. Your diet plays a huge role in the development of a sweet voice, from hydration to vitamins and honey. Without further ado, check it out.

Hydrating Foods:

Staying well hydrated is key to a healthy voice, according to numerous vocal coaches. While ensuring you drink enough fluids throughout the day is key, you can also increase your fluid consumption through the foods you eat. In addition to the recommended eight 8-ounce glasses of non-caffeinated drinks, consider fruits and vegetables naturally high in water. The crisp, refreshing tastes of raw tomatoes, celery and cucumber will be welcome relief for your hard-working vocal cords. Similarly, fluid rich fruits such as apples, grapes and peaches are also “voice-friendly” choices.

Water:

The sound of your voice is created by small internal muscle movements. Muscles need the energy furnished by well metabolized food in order to function well. They also need to be hydrated to achieve peak energy, flexibility and elasticity. Drinking room temperature water as your principal beverage is best for hydration. Room temperature is better than iced because when you swallow, the water flows down the esophagus behind but adjacent to your larynx (voice box).
If the temperature of what you've swallowed is either cold or hot, it will affect the muscles of your larynx and vocal folds. This would be like putting a hot or cold compress on your leg muscles right before running a race. So drink your hot or cold drinks after the rehearsal, show or recording session. Before or during performing, just drink room temperature water.
Apart from hydrating the body, water also keeps our vocal cords moist, and this is very important for a healthy voice. This is because when we are singing, our vocal cords are vibrating at an extremely fast speed. If our vocal cords are dry, they will be more prone to irritation when vibrating, and this may cause some pain and discomfort when we sing.

A Balanced Diet:

Other than taking in lots of water, we should also consume a balanced diet for our meals, and take lots of whole grains, fruits as well as vegetables. These foods contain high levels of Vitamins A, C and E – Vitamin A helps cells regenerate normally, Vitamin C helps prevent the common cold and sore throat as well as improve immune functions of the body, and Vitamin E is a powerful anti-oxidant that protects cell membranes and also improves immune functions of the body.
These foods also help to keep the mucus membranes in our throats healthy, so that we avoid irritation in our throats when we sing.

Honey:

Another one ‘good singing foods’ is Honey! My personal favourite is actually Honey, which has anti-microbial properties, meaning that bacteria will find it hard to survive and reproduce in honey. This also means that when we have a sore throat or just feel some discomfort in our voice, we can just take one spoonful of pure Honey, and let it drizzle down our throats. This will help to keep the bacteria away, and will also help our sore throats to heal faster!. Honey has yet another wonderful healing property, which is that it is antiseptic and anti-inflammatory! This means that it will help to prevent any infection from spreading, and will thus speed up the recovery of our sore throat! Many singers swear by honey being a wonderful remedy of sore throat as well as a great singing food for protecting our fragile vocals!

Foods To Avoid

Caffeine Drinks and Alcohol:

All caffeinated beverages, including teas, coffee and certain sodas, are harmful for your voice. Because caffeine is a natural diuretic, it can cause your throat muscles to become dehydrated, leading to muscle constriction. Tight muscles make it more difficult — and more dangerous — for you to produce that lovely, smooth sound with your voice. Tight muscles, over a long or regular period of time, can lead to damaged vocal cords, causing raspiness, strain or even a loss in vocal ability.

Dairy and Dairy Products:

Dairy products are one of the biggest food groups to avoid to protect your throat. Milk and milk products, including yogurt, cheese, ice cream, milk and butter, increase phlegm production in your throat. The extra mucous makes it difficult for to produce a consistently clear tone, as you’ll be spending most of your time clearing your throat or worrying that you will have to. While you don’t need to avoid all dairy products, consuming them right before a performance, or on a regular basis, isn’t recommended.

As a general rule, fatty foods, fast food, spicy foods, caffeine and alcohol, soda, sugar, dairy products can be hard on the singing voice, producing a thicker mucus


What's more?

SLEEP!!

Get the right amount of sleep… Your body functions best when it is rested, as you know. The sound of your voice is one of the first indicators of fatigue; even a friend miles away can tell you that you “sound tired” on the phone. Since you’ll refuse to show your fatigue in a performance, (and rightfully so), you’ll have to expend extra energy just to get your “mix” and into your high notes. You will push your voice harder than you should; its inevitable, SLEEP!!